'Graffiti' professor sentenced

A university professor is being sentenced for scratching polite graffiti on luxury cars, causing thousands of pounds of damage.

Stephen Graham, who had been drinking, admitted attacking the cars which included a Mercedes and an Audi when they were parked in the streets of Jesmond, Newcastle, near his home last August.

He used a screwdriver to scratch the words "very silly", "really wrong" and "arbitrary" on to cars, among other messages.

The 47-year-old, who works at the city's university as an expert in cities and society, admitted four counts and asked for 23 similar offences to be taken into consideration when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court in January.

It was said he had no recollection of what happened on the night in August 2012 in Northumberland Gardens, a few streets from his home in Lansdowne Gardens.

At a previous hearing he blamed a bad reaction to alcohol, antibiotics and prescription drugs for his behaviour.